Giant hippo sculpture to float down the Thames

The artist responsible for a giant rubber duck sculpture that bobbed along the rivers of countries like France, Brazil and the U.S. is to bless the Thames with his latest project – a giant hippo.

Florentijn Hofman hopes HippopoThames, an enormous wooden sculpture of a cartoonish-looking hippo, will make up for not bringing Rubber Duck to the UK.

Hofman’s new project, which will arrive this afternoon at Riverside Gardens near Vauxhall, London, will signal the beginning of the Totally Thames festival, a month-long programme of events celebrating the arts, music and community festivals across London.

Hofman was inspired after learning hippos used to inhabit the Thames (Picture: ThamesFestivalTrust)

‘I am thrilled and excited to be using the Thames as the location of my first UK commission,’ Hofman told The Telegraph.

‘The purpose of setting my sculptures in the public domain has always been to give members of the public a break from their daily routines, to inspire conversation and to cause astonishment.’

The Dutch artist said he was inspired to create a giant hippo after learning the animal used to inhabit the Thames in prehistoric times, and he will be hoping the sculpture fares better than some of his Rubber Ducks have.

Hofman will be hoping the hippo is received better than the Rubber Duck was in Belgium, where it was stabbed 42 times (Picture: ThamesFestivalTrust)

One of the models on display in Belgium in 2009 was stabbed 42 times by vandals.

A duck deployed in Taiwan deflated in 2013, while in China the rubber duck was swept away in floods.